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G. V. SHEFFIELD: WATER ALARM FOR TANKS 0R BOILERS.

Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

GEORGE V. SHEFFIELD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANK MAOHAUER, OF SAME PLACE.

WATER-ALARM FOR TANKS OR BOILERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,235, dated August 18, 1896.

Application filed April 10, 1896. Serial No. 586,996. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: and from this bell-magnet a wire 13 leads to Be it known that I, GEORGE V. SHEFFIELD, the binding-screw 8. The alarm and circuit of New York, in the county and State of New mechanism above described is adapted to York, have invented certain new and useful sound an alarm as to the level of the water 5 Improvements in High andLowWaterAlarms in the feed-water tank, but it is also the purfor Boilers or Tanks, of which the following pose of my invention to sound an alarm for is a full, clear, and exact description. high and low water in a boiler having con- This invention relates to devices for auto-, nection with the feed-water tank, and the matically sounding an alarm for both high connections therefor I will now describe. 6o

re and low water in a steam-boiler or in a feed- A indicates a glass water-gage secured to water tank or in both, and the object is to proa boiler A in the usual manner. Within vide a simple device for this purpose, comthe gage A is a circuit-closing float 14 and a prising an electric circuit and sounding decircuit-breaking float 15. These floats are vices whereby an engineer or attendant may here shown in the form of hollow balls of any 1 5 be instantly notified when the water in a boiler suitable light metal. The float 14 is designed or tank shall have reached the low-water line, to close a circuit to sound an alarm upon the so that he may set the pump in operation, and water reaching the high-water line in the further to notify him when sufiicient water boiler, and the float 15 is designed to break a shall have been pumped in. circuit to cause the sounding of an alarm when 20 I will describe an alarm embodying my inthe water in the boiler shall have reached its vention, and then point out the novel features low mark.

in the appended claims. Contact-wires 16 17 extend through the up The drawing is a diagrammatic view of a per portion of the glass gage A, and the float device embodying my invention. 14: is supported adjacent the wires 16 1'7, but

2 5 Referring to the drawing, A designates a out of contact therewith, by means of a wire feed-water tank, within which is a float a, 18, extended across the interior of the gage. havinga flexible connection a, extended over From the contact-wire 16 a wire 19 extends pulleys a a mounted on arms secured to to the wire 9, and from the contact-wire 17 a the tank, and the lower end of said flexible wire 20 leads to the wire 13. It will be seen o connection is secured to a circuit-closer 1, from this construction that the contact-wires here shown in the form of a weight free to 16 17 are in a circuit comprising the battery move both laterally and vertically. The cir- 10 and the bell-magnet 12. Therefore when cuit-closer 1 has a broadened or flanged lower the circuit is closed by means of the rising waend adapted to engage, when in its lowermost terin the gage forcingthe float linto engage- 8 5 3 5 position, with contact-fingers 2 3, and, when ment with the contacts 16 17 the boiler highin its uppermost position, with contact-fingers water alarm will be sounded.

4 5, arranged directly over and in line with Within the lower portion of the gage A, the contact-fingers 2 3. It is designed to and designed to coact with the float 15, are sound an alarm for high water when the circontact-wires 21 22.. From the contact-wire o 0 cult is closed through the fingers 2 3, and to 21 a wire 23 leads to the wire 9, and from the sound a low-water alarm when the circuit is contact-wire 22 a wire 24 leads to one pole of closed through the fingers 4 5. Therefore I an electromagnet 25, from the other pole of will term the fingcrs23 high-wate1contacts which a wire 26 leads to the wire 11. The and the fingers 4t 5 low-water contacts. battery 10 is comprised in the circuit of the 5 45 The fingers 2 4 are secured by means of a electromagnet 25 and contact-wires 21 22, but binding-screw 6 to a suitable base 7, of insuas this circuit is normally closed it is obvious lating material, and the fingers 3 5 are sethat the bell-magnet12shouldnotbeincluded cured by means of a binding-screw 8 to said therein, and in lieu thereof I provide an in- L base. From the fingers 2 4 a wire 9 leads to dependent alarm underthe control of the elec- 50 one pole of a battery 10, from the other pole tromagnet 25, which I will now describe.

of which awire 11 leads to a bell-magnet 12, Coactiug with the electromagnet 25 is an armature-lever 27, having a wire 28 extended from its pivoted end to one pole of a battery 29, and the free end of said armature is adapted to engage with a contactpin 80, having a wire connection 31 with the battery 29, and in this circuit is located a bell-magnet 82. This circuit comprising the bell-magnet 32 and the armature 27 I will term, for convenience, a normally open local circuit, as the armature-lever is held out of engagement with the pin 30 by means of the electromagnet 25, which is in a normally closed circuit.

The operation of the first-described part of my invention is as follows: Assuming that water is being pumped into the tank A, the float a will rise therewith, and when a sufticient height of water shall have been reached the circuit-closer will engage with and close the circuit through the fingers 2 3 to sound the alarm, and then the pump must be stopped. To stop the alarm, when in this condition, the engineer or attendant must break the connection by moving the circuit-closer 1 laterally out of contact with either one of the fingers 2 3. This may be done by moving the circuit-closer and resting it on one of the fingers. As the level of the water in the tank falls the circuit closer 1 will be raised and automatically swing clear of the contact-finger and to its central position, to be moved into engagement with the contactfingers 4 5 and sound the alarm when the water in the tank shall have reached the lowwater line.

The operation of the second-described part of my invention is as follows: In filling the boiler the water will rise in the gage A, and when sufiiciently full will lift the float 14 into engagement with the contact-wires 10 17, thus closing the circuit and sounding the alarm. As the water falls in the gage the float will lower and break the contact. The float will continue to lower until it reaches the support 18, where it will be suspended and prevented from closing the circuit through the wires 21 22 when the level of the water reaches the same. The water in the gage will hold the float 15 in engagement with the wires 21 22 until the level of the wateris below the same, when the float will fall and open the circuit, thus deenergizing the electromagnet '25, and allow the armature-lever 27 to close the local circuit and sound the low-water alarm.

It may be here stated that the wires 18 and the contact-wires are permanently fixed in the glass gage by fusing the glass around them.

fingers, low-water eontact-fingers arranged above and in line with the high-water contact-fingers, the high-water contact-fingers and the low-water contact-fingers being socured together on a base, and the said lowwater contact-lingers being so arranged that the circuit-closer may be swung laterally to break the connection through the high-water contact-fingers, and an electric circuit engaging with the contact-fingers and comprising an alarm, substantially as specified.

2. A high and low water alarm for a boiler, comprising an electric circuit hayingan alarm therein, a circuit'closing float in a water-gagc on the boiler and controlled by the water therein, a circuit-breaking float also in said gage, an electric circuit held normally closed by said circuit-breaker, an electromagnet in said normally-closed circuit, and a normally open local circuit, having an alarm, and controlled by said electromagnet, substantially as specified.

3. In an electric alarm system for indicat ing the level of water in a boiler, the combination with electric circuits and a water-gage on the boiler, of a eircuit'closing Heat in said. gage, contact-wires therefor secured in the gage, a support for said float rigidly fixed in the gage, a circuit-breaking float in said gage, contact-wires therefor secured in the gage, and an alarm-controlling circuit held normally closed by said circuit-breaking lloat, substantially as specified.

4. A high and low water alarm system for a feed-water tank and a boiler connected therewith, comprising an electric circuit having an alarm therein, a eircuit closer con trolled by the rising and falling of the water in the tank, a circuit-closer operated by the rising of the water in the boiler, a circuitbreaker controlled by the water in the boiler, a normally-closed circuit under control of said circuit'breaker and having connection with a battery in the first-named circuit, and a normally open local circuit, having an alarm, and controlled by said normally-closed circuit, substantially as specified.

GEORGE V. SHEFFIELD.

Vitnesses:

J. L. MCAULIFFE, JNo. M. BITTER. 

